Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: The department of social and health services (DSHS) is proposing to amend WAC 388-71-0876 When must long-term care workers who were working or hired during the COVID-19 public health emergency complete training, including required specialty training?, 388-71-0992 When must continuing education be completed when public health emergency waivers are lifted, and what continuing education credit is granted to long-term care workers employed during the pandemic?, 388-112A-0081 When must long-term care workers who were working or hired during the COVID-19 public health emergency complete training, including required specialty training?, and 388-112A-0613 When must continuing education be completed when public health emergency waivers are lifted, and what continuing education credit is granted to long-term care workers employed during the pandemic? The amendments will finalize training, certification, and continuing education pandemic extensions and deadlines, and set a date for repeal of those sections as required by RCW 74.39A.074 and 74.39A.341.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: RCW 74.39A.074 (4)(a) and 74.39A.341 (6)(a) stipulate that "If a pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared state of emergency impacts the ability of long-term care workers to complete training as required by this section, the department may adopt rules to allow long-term care workers additional time to complete the training requirements." Additionally, the same statues [statutes] require that "Once the department determines a rule adopted under this subsection is no longer necessary, it must repeal the rule under RCW 34.05.353." In 2021, DSHS added two new sections in chapter 388-71 and 388-112A WAC in response to the backlog of long-term care workers needing training or testing for certification or both caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rules allowed additional time for long-term care workers to be certified by requiring them to complete training and continuing education requirements by certain dates to reduce the impact of clients accessing qualified long-term care workers to provide personal care services. Availability of training and certification for long-term care workers continues to require extension to deadlines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The extensions are critical for ensuring the ability of long-term care workers to access training, certification, and continuing education. DSHS intends to put current emergency rule deadlines for training, certification, and continuing education into permanent rule to cover those long-term care workers still affected by training, certification, and continuing education backlogs, and to clarify a final repeal date for all COVID-19 related training rules when they are no longer required as directed by statute.

(1) Unless exempt from training as described in WAC 388-71-0839 or WAC 388-112A-0090, a long-term care worker affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency must complete training, including required specialty training, as follows:

Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of:	Must complete basic training no later than:
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020	((10/31/2022))1/31/2023
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021	((1/31/2023))4/30/2023
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022	((4/30/2023))7/31/2023
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022	((8/31/2023))10/31/2023
10/1/2022 - ((12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later))6/30/2023	((9/30/2023 or within 120 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later))11/30/2023
((After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later))Beginning 7/1/2023	Standard training requirements-120 days from hire date

(2) Unless exempt from certification as described in WAC 246-980-025, a worker affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency who is required to be certified as a home care aide must obtain certification ((as follows:))according to WAC 246-980-011.

((Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of:	Must be certified as a home care aide no later than:
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020	1/19/2023
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021	4/21/2023
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022	7/19/2023
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022	11/19/2023
10/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later	12/19/2023 or within 200 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later
After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later	Standard training))

(3) "Hired" and "rehired" as used in this section mean the date of hire as defined in chapter 246-980 WAC. A long-term care worker is considered rehired if they held previous employment as a long-term care worker and did not have an active home care aide credential when hired during the time frames outlined in section (1) of this section.

(4) If a long-term care worker is limited-English proficient, the worker may request an additional 60 days to obtain certification.

(5) Nothing in this section prevents a long-term care worker hired between ((8/17/2019))August 17, 2019, and ((9/30/2022))September 30, 2022, from completing training or obtaining certification in advance of the deadlines stipulated in subsections (1) or (2) of this section.

(6) This section expires on August 1, 2024.

(1) The department finds that long-term care workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, required emergent and intensive on-the-job training. Long-term care workers received critical, ongoing training in such topics as:

(a) Donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE);

(b) Hand hygiene;

(d) Managing visitations and physical distancing;

(e) Responding to newly infected residents;

(f) Promotion of vaccination;

(g) Protocols for quarantine;

(h) Use of cloth face coverings;

(i) Personal protection outside of the work environment; and

(j) How to reduce exposure and spread.

(2) This on-the-job training was required of all workers in all long-term care environments in Washington state. Instruction was provided in assisted living facilities, adult family homes, home care agencies, enhanced services facilities, certified community residential services, and to individual providers by the SEIU775 benefits group and DSHS to discuss infection control and the availability and distribution of personal protective equipment. Recognition of this training as a valid learning experience, in its various forms, was agreed upon with input from consumer and worker representatives, as the content was based on guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other federal, state, and local health care authorities.

(3) During this time, long-term care workers required ongoing critical training because guidance from the CDC, department of labor and industries, and other health authorities changed as more was learned about the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The department finds that this unprecedented on-the-job training constituted at least 12 hours of continuing education between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021, and that this training is not considered to be repeated training as described in WAC ((388-112A-0600(2)))388-71-0985.

(4) All long-term care workers employed during the dates in section (3) of this section are granted 12 hours of DSHS-approved continuing education credit for the training entitled "COVID-19 On-The-Job Training Protocols," bearing the DSHS approval code CE2135218. No physical certificate for this training will be issued or required. The COVID-19 continuing education hours may be applied to renewal periods ending no earlier than March 1, 2020, and no later than December 31, 2021.

(5) The department recognizes that long-term care workers may not have completed training hours in excess of the 12 hours of ((CE))continuing education granted in section (4) of this section due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. All long-term care workers ((shall have until December 31, 2022, or 120 days from the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later, to complete any additional CE that may have become due while training waivers were in place in excess of the 12 hours of CE granted in subsection (4) of this section. If a worker's next birthday allows fewer than 120 days after the waivers are lifted to complete required CE for their current renewal cycle, the worker will have 120 days from the end of training waivers to complete the required CE.))must complete all other continuing education requirements that came due while training waivers were in place in excess of the 12 hours of continuing education granted in section (4) of this section no later than August 31, 2023. Continuing education hours due for renewal cycles occurring between October 28, 2022, and August 31, 2023, must be completed no later than August 31, 2023.

(6) This section expires on January 1, 2024.

Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of:	Must complete basic training no later than:
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020	((10/31/2022))1/31/2023
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021	((1/31/2023))4/30/2023
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022	((4/30/2023))7/31/2023
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022	((8/31/2023))10/31/2023
10/1/2022 - ((12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later)) 6/30/2023	((9/30/2023 or within 120 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later))11/30/2023
((After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later))Beginning 7/1/2023	Standard training requirements-120 days from hire date

((Worker hired or rehired during the time frame of:	Must be certified as a home care aide no later than:
8/17/2019 to 9/30/2020	1/19/2023
10/1/2020 to 4/30/2021	4/21/2023
5/1/2021 to 3/31/2022	7/19/2023
4/1/2022 to 9/30/2022	11/19/2023
10/1/2022 - 12/31/2022 or the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later	12/19/2023 or within 200 days after the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation, whichever is later
After the end of the COVID-19 training waivers established by gubernatorial proclamation or beginning 1/1/2023, whichever is later	Standard training))

(4) If a long-term care worker is limited-English proficient, the worker may request an additional 60 days to obtain certification.

(6) This section expires on August 1, 2024.

(a) Donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE);

(b) Hand hygiene;

(d) Managing visitations and physical distancing;

(e) Responding to newly infected residents;

(f) Promotion of vaccination;

(g) Protocols for quarantine;

(h) Use of cloth face coverings;

(i) Personal protection outside of the work environment; and

(j) How to reduce exposure and spread.

(2) This on-the-job training was required of all workers in all long-term care environments in Washington state. Instruction was provided in assisted living facilities, adult family homes, homecare agencies, enhanced services facilities, certified community residential services, and to individual providers by the SEIU775 benefits group and DSHS to discuss infection control and the availability and distribution of personal protective equipment. Recognition of this training as a valid learning experience, in its various forms, was agreed upon with input from consumer and worker representatives, as the content was based on guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other federal, state, and local health care authorities.

(6) This section expires on January 1, 2024.